Man Suspected in Stabbing Outside Georgia Dome Says He Was the Victim

A suspect has been arrested in the stabbing incident that occurred outside the Georgia Dome after the NFC Championship game, and he says it was in self-defense.

In addition to saying the stabbing was in reaction to being the victim of an attack by multiple people, James Lewis McCoy of Villa Rica says that he was never arrested.

A spokesman for the Georgia Dome told WXIA that McCoy was arrested Tuesday afternoon by the GWCC Authority Police Department. Authorities said they think the altercation was over food rather than the game, reports WXIA-TV.

The stabbing occurred around 6:40 p.m. Sunday in the silver parking lot. Police said a fight broke out between McCoy and another man, who is in stable condition at Grady Hospital.

“He was essentially attacked, unprovoked, attacked by maybe four to five to six men. And Mr. McCoy at some point and time did reach in his pocket and retrieve a small box blade knife that he carries in conjunction with his job, and used that to get the men off of him,” McCoy’s attorney Mac Pilgrim told WSB.

A witness initially said the fight was between two fans involved in the game, but Dome officials said that was not the case and that neither of the two attended the game. Investigators said they believe the disagreement started over food at a tailgate.

McCoy and Pilgrim met with Georgia World Congress Center Police on Tuesday. Police said verbally and in a written statement that McCoy had been arrested, but his attorney disagreed.

“He has not been arrested, nor is he under arrest at this time,” Pilgrim said.